BHAKTI AND SIKHISM. The word bhakti is derived from Skt. bhaj, meaning to serve, honour, revere, love and adore. In the religious idiom, it is attachment or fervent devotion to God and is defined as "that particular affection which is generated by the knowledge of the attributes of the Adorable One." The concept is traceable to the Vedas where its intimations are audible in the hymns addressed to deities such as Varuna, Savitra and Usha.
BANDA BAHADUR GURUDWARA, NEW DELHI In every faith and every land, whenever men become corrupt, despotic and tyrannous, God sends a scourge like me to punish them and teach them a lesson". Thus spoke Banda Singh Bahadur a great Sikh hero in reply to a question put to him by Mohammad Amin Khan, the author of Siyarul-Mutakherin when he went near him to ask as to why he was waging war against Mughals. Banda Bahadur was tortured to death by order of Mughal King Farrukh Siyar on June 19, 1716 in Mehrauli near Qutab Minar. Earlier he was taken through the streets of Delhi to the shrine of the Sufi Saint Khawaja Bakhtiar Kaki in Mehrauli. He was paraded around the tomb of Emperor Bahadur Shah.
DAN SINGH, a Brar Jatt of the village of Mahima Sarja in present day Bathinda district of the Punjab, joined along with his son the contingent of Brars raised by Guru Gobind Singh after his escape from Chamkaur in December 1705. Dan Singh by virtue of his devotion and daring soon won the Guru`s trust as well as the leadership of the Brar force. The anonymous author of Malva Des Ratan di Sakhi Pothi states that he was appointed asupali (asvapa/,) or keeper of horses. It was at his suggestion that Guru Gobind Singh chose a high ground near the dhab or pool of Khidrana (now known as Tibbi Sahib near Muktsar), to defend himself against the pursuing host of the faujdar of Sirhind.
DIAL DAS, BHAI or Bhai Diala (d. 1675), martyr to the Sikh faith, was, according to Shahid Bilas Bhai Mani Singh, the son of Mai Das and an elder brother of Bhai Mani Ram. He was a prominent Sikh of his time and was in the train of Guru Tegh Bahadur during his journey across the eastern parts in 1665-70. He was one of the Sikhs detained and later released by the Mughal rulers in 1665. As the Guru proceeded further east from Patna, Dial Das was left behind to look after the Guru`s family.
